Great Monkey Business for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Not So Much for "The Change-Up"

Monday, August 8, 2011, 09:26 AMPosted by Manny

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" did not monkey around at the North American box office over the weekend. The prequel to the popular series starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, and Andy Serkis claimed the top spot bowing at No. 1 with $54 million, about $15 million to $20 million more than expected.

Meanwhile, previous weekend's box-office champ, Universal's "Cowboys & Aliens" fell to No. 3 with $15.8 million lifting its domestic total to a weak $67.4 million. Over the course of last week, "The Smurfs" ultimately proved that movie audiences loved the little blue creatures more. The Sony kiddie tale remained at No. 2 with $21 million for a domestic total of $76.2 million.

Universal is clearly not having a great week. The studio's new comedy, "The Change-Up" starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, flopped, opening at No. 4 with a weak $13.5 million; thus, ending the mighty box-office run of the raunchy comedy genre. Or was it the body-switching-by-way-of-urinating-at-a-magic-fountain genre?

But "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" continued to make box-office magic, becoming this year's top-grossing global release! Its $1.13 billion haul over the weekend surpassed the $1.04 billion total of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." Go Harry!

Warner Bros. has officially released this picture, drumming interest for "The Dark Knight Rises" the final film in the Christopher Nolan-directed trilogy starring Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, and Tom Hardy as the big, bad Bane. Speaking of, if you missed the picture of Hardy looking bad ass as Bane being whooped by Batman, take a look below! I can't wait for July 2012 when "The Dark Knight Rises" descend into theaters.

The Academy must be really desperate! Ratings fell (this year's telecast was down 10% compared to 2010's), and the coveted demographic, adults 18 to 49, pretty much ignored the awards show.

So the Academy's answer? Let's bring someone who hasn't been nominated before produce the Oscars! Bring in Brett Ratner!

I don't know about you but I am not a fan of Ratner. He's a visual but shallow director in the vein of Michael Bay. But I guess the Academy believes that Ratner's razzle-dazzle technique will bring in the young 'uns.

But you know what's gonna happen? Next year's telecast will be more of the same! Why? Because Ratner will co-produce with veteran show producer Don Mischer. So the look and flavor may change, but the content will remain the same. Huh...just like a Ratner movie!

The stellar director of such classics as the "Rush Hour" movies promises that next year's Oscars will entail...comedy!!! Wow, I'm laughing already. Take a look at this excerpt from his phone interview with EW:

In the announcement, Dawn Hudson said you had “a really smart and fresh take for the show.” What did she mean?

BR: Oh God, I just got hired! You’ve got to give me a little bit of time. But I can tell you it entails comedy. The key to this show is making it funny. But respecting the pedigree and the old Hollywood history. Comedy is what I do. I know how to entertain people. I want to laugh when I’m watching a show like this. But I’m not looking to come in and shake it up and reinvent it. I can’t change the Academy; I can just do a great show.

And The Hollywood Reporter compiled the 10 best Twitter reactions to Ratner's Oscar producing. But here's my favorite:

"Brett Ratner producing the Oscars is like letting Thanos manage the Justice League - not just wrong 'side,' wrong UNIVERSE."-- the_moviebob

Yes, wrong universe, I hear 'ya moviebob! But let's give Ratner the benefit of the doubt. Let's see on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, if Ratner, the Oscar producer who hasn't even directed live television, will be able to energize the Academy Awards!